"AGOF provides a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” explains Fellowship Recruitment and Selection Officer Sihle Mofokeng, adding that their fellowships are considered more than just a financial transaction between the foundation and its beneficiaries.

"For example, as part of the initiative one can access an entrepreneurship development programme, which is there to help cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit that we all have. Beneficiaries also have access to a Personal Programme Officer. This is someone responsible for making sure that their personal development and growth is well looked after.”

In addition, Mofokeng reveals, during their third and fourth years of study, all participants are assigned an Industry Mentor.

 "This is someone who is in the same field of study, someone who has walked the same journey before and is able to help you on yours. Participants who have taken entrepreneurial action while at university also have access to a Business Coach.

"Upon completion of their studies, graduates become part of our Association and are able to continue learning and cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit and have access to capital funding from our founding partner ESquared."

To date AGOF has supported 87 students at Stellenbosch University, of which 58 are still active students.

"Our opportunity is open to all degree fields excluding medicine, veterinary science and dentistry (due to the length of these qualifications). We believe that entrepreneurship can be taught and that everyone should be thinking entrepreneurially wherever they find themselves—in the courtroom as a lawyer, in a mine as an engineer or even on stage as an artist or performer.”

While they do not prescribe to learners which university to attend, Mofokeng believes that the number of candidates choosing Stellenbosch University have increased over the years because of the lifestyle that the town and university offers its students.

"The strong student support (both academic and psychosocial), excellent rankings and focus on entrepreneurship—especially through the work done at the Launch Lab—makes Stellenbosch University one of our obvious partners for what we are trying to achieve.”

Any prospective students who are still unsure of whether or not to apply should take the plunge and "just go for it", advises Mofokeng.

"Remember we are not looking for people who have started businesses, but rather those with the potential to do so. The application form might seem long, but it is also a reflective exercise and one that will really force you to think about what you have done. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should not be missed.”

 For more information about the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation go to www.allangrayorbis.org.